Chapter 109
The final episode of The Masked Singer began with brief interviews of the three remaining contestants: Black Cat, Crocodile, and Alien.
Soon after, a joint stage featuring previously eliminated contestants was performed as a celebratory opening act before the main stage.
"Lin hyung, when is Eugene hyung singing?"
"I'm not sure, I don't know what the finals order is."
"I hope Eugene hyung's stage is the very last one."
"By the way, isn't that Crocodile mask the contestant who had a 1-on-1 duel with Eugene hyung in the first round?"
"You're right, they both made it to the finals together."
"The reaction back then was insane. Thinking about it now, it really was a preview of the finals."
"When I heard them last time, everyone sang so well... It won't be easy today."
"Oh oh, it looks like the finals stage is starting now!"
When Woo Jung-woo spoke while looking at the screen, the other members also stopped their chatter and hurriedly turned their eyes to the screen.
On the screen, on a stage decorated magnificently befitting the final performance, a bizarre pink furry mass wearing a full-body costume was standing.
"It looks like the first stage is Alien."
"The costume seems even more flashy than before?"
"It's totally sparkling..."
"What song will they sing?"
While the members, slightly relieved that it wasn't Eugene Kim's stage, were talking among themselves.
Finally, the first performance—Alien's stage—began.
With a gentle, familiar intro.
"Ah! I know this song too."
"Anyway, the voice is really unique."
"I feel like I've heard this voice somewhere before."
"Oh! Me too! Where have I heard it? Seems like a famous person."
The song Alien chose was currently the hottest R&B music.
Over the calm melody, Alien's distinctive tone pierced through the music and popped out.
"The song is sad, but the atmosphere somehow seems bright."
"That's probably because the tone is so unique."
"Still, they sing incredibly well."
"As expected, finals contestants are different."
While the members were admiring Alien's stage, I went into the community site and checked the real-time reactions.
-I know who it is just from the first verse.
-That voice can't be hidden with a mask LOL
-Obviously it's Lil X. Are they not even trying to hide their voice?
-They hid it a bit during the preliminaries...
-What? Lil X is on The Masked Singer?
└It's live right now. Today is the finals. But the identity isn't confirmed for sure yet.
└What do you mean they don't know? You can literally see the face through the voice.
No matter which post I read, there was a common word.
It was Lil X.
It seemed like Alien's identity was a singer named Lil X.
"Lin hyung. What are you looking at so earnestly by yourself?"
At Sim Seong-ha's question, I showed him my phone screen just as it was.
"Oh... oh... I can't understand a single thing it says."
"Didn't you say you were studying English hard, Seong-ha?"
"That's... I can only listen for now. Reading is still... So what is everyone saying? That they sing well?"
"More importantly. They're saying Alien's identity right now is Lil X? Does everyone know who Lil X is?"
"Lil X? I feel like I've heard of them somewhere."
At that moment, Park Han-hwi, who had been quietly watching Alien's stage, opened his mouth.
"Ah! I thought I'd heard it somewhere, it was Lil X. They're the hottest rookie among hip-hop artists these days."
"Are they a famous person?"
"Wait... Lil X's song was on the Billboard Hot 100... Here. It's ranked 7th."
"Wow! 7th place? That's really amazing."
"Hmm. If they're that famous, wouldn't Alien take 1st place? The stage seems really good too..."
"What's that? Where is that sound coming from... Hey! Kang A-jin, can you be quiet?"
"Yees... sob sob..."
It was Kang A-jin, still blindfolded and tied up in a corner of the room.
As we exchanged small talk about Lil X, the first stage of the finals came to an end.
[Wow! That was a great stage!]
[It's the freshest song I've heard recently.]
[But I think I know who Alien's identity is. Doesn't everyone else?]
[I think I know too.]
The panel's stage evaluation killed time for just a moment.
[Now, the second stage will begin right away.]
Along with the host's progression, the scene captured by the camera on stage—
Unlike Alien's flashy stage from the previous performance, in an entirely pitch-black scenery, only faint smoke was slowly seeping out from the corner of the stage.
The audience, in turn, fell quiet.
While everyone was keeping silent.
"Oh! Black Cat!"
"It's Eugene hyung!"
Black Cat appearing on stage.
The second finals stage was Black Cat's stage.
Waaaaaaaah—
A brief exclamation erupted from the audience at Black Cat's appearance, but that too was only for a moment.
As Black Cat took position on the dark stage where the lights still hadn't turned on, the cheers gradually died down.
At that moment.
Whoooosh—
A single beam of light shining onto the stage.
And the previously obscured Black Cat's costume began to be revealed on screen.
"Huh? Isn't that a hanbok?"
"A durumagi? It kind of gives off that vibe."
"Wait, what's that in their hand?"
"Oh, it's real. It looks like an instrument. I think I know what it is—isn't that a haegeum?"
"A haegeum? Why would that be here?"
In that moment when everyone was surprised.
Black Cat slowly began to play the instrument in their hand.
Ziiiiing—
The sound of the haegeum played by Black Cat echoed across the quiet stage.
"Wow, the sound is so good?"
"Is Eugene really playing that?"
"They even know how to play the haegeum? Mr. Kim Eugene, were you really a genius?"
"But what song is this?"
While everyone was distracted by the haegeum performance.
The intro of the song, whose identity couldn't yet be determined for certain, continued to flow on.
And.
"Huh??"
"What!"
The screen suddenly changed.
On the screen, another person wearing a Black Cat mask was standing in the corner of the stage.
This time holding a daegeum.
"Wait, what's going on here?"
"Don't tell me it's a clone technique?"
"What, are they really playing? Isn't that a daegeum?"
Wooooong—
The mournful sound of the daegeum layered on top of the haegeum's sound.
And the moment we heard that melody, we immediately realized what song this was.
"Titanic!"
"It's the Titanic OST. The title is..."
"My Heart Will Go On."
"Yeah, that song!"
"Crazy, they arranged this song into traditional Korean music?"
Eugene Kim's final stage that even the members hadn't anticipated.
At that radical arrangement, we couldn't help but be astonished.
"Wait a minute, Baek Si-hyun. Why are you so calm?"
"You knew about this in advance, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah..."
While we were scolding Baek Si-hyun, the singing voice finally reached us.
And the camera passed the Black Cats playing the haegeum and daegeum and focused on a small railing on the main stage.
"That's the real one there."
"Finally, the main body appears!"
There was a familiar voice.
Eugene Kim, wearing the same mask and costume as the other Black Cats.
Standing high up on the stage, singing while leaning against the railing alone.
Then, the hem of the durumagi Black Cat was wearing could be seen fluttering in the gently blowing wind.
"Wow! But aside from the stage composition and arrangement..."
"They just sing so incredibly well?"
"Eugene hyung is so good."
Eugene Kim's warm voice blended affectionately over the mystical traditional Korean music accompaniment.
It was a famous song everyone knew, but the arrangement created a completely different atmosphere.
Naturally, the real-time reactions coming up were also explosive.
-Crazy! They pull off this song like this?
-I got chills from the stage production from the very beginning. How did they think of having multiple people wear the same mask?
-More importantly, what on earth is that strange-looking instrument? I know it's a traditional Asian instrument, but...
-Everyone seems too surprised by the arrangement to notice, but try focusing on the singing right now. It's truly amazing vocal skill.
-From the stage production to the singing, everything is perfect!
-Even Celine Dion would marvel at this stage.
-It seems like the winner of this season is already decided.
Reactions full of praise.
Even with the unfamiliar Oriental arrangement, most reactions were very favorable.
Black Cat's stage, progressing amid such passionate reactions, finished the calmly flowing first verse.
"Wow!"
"Orchestra!"
"My chest feels so grand...!"
The empty space of the stage.
The dark veil on the dark stage was lifted.
And the sound of an orchestra playing came from behind that veil.
Along with the orchestra's performance, the second verse starting with an even richer melody exuded a passionate atmosphere unlike the first verse.
And then the final moment of the song arrived.
Along with Black Cat's voice belting out a high note, all the accompaniment stopped as if time itself had frozen.
And Black Cat's singing voice continued in an a cappella state.
The voice echoing mournfully.
That sound, breathing alone in the halted music, slowly faded away.
"Is... is it over?"
When someone said those words.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—
An enormous cheer coming through the speakers.
"Haa..."
I too finally released my tension and let out a breath.
"They'll take... 1st place, right?"
The members, who had been silent for a while, reacted roughly to Baek Si-hyun's words.
"Obviously 1st place!"
"If they sing like this and don't get 1st... I'm really going to the broadcasting station and smashing everything..."
"Seong-ha, even if you say that, it's not scary at all."
"That's not meant to be scary!!"
Just like the noisy atmosphere in the dorm, the atmosphere of the panelists on screen was also extraordinary.
[To think such an amazing stage came out. I really can't believe it...]
[Wow! Black Cat always surprises us.]
[It was truly a stage worthy of the finals. Amazing.]
[If I could give a score, I would gladly give 100 points to this stage.]
[By the way, the more masks come off, the more curious I get about Black Cat's identity.]
[That's right. Seeing today's stage, I'm thinking maybe they're a singer from Asia...]
[If we wait just a little longer, we'll know for sure who they are.]
[I hope the last stage starts soon.]
Amid the amiable atmosphere, praises and compliments toward Black Cat poured out.
The panelists didn't forget to speculate about Black Cat's identity until the end.
Of course, K-pop fans who knew WeArs would all know Black Cat's identity, but.
"Everyone will be really surprised when they take off the mask, right?"
"The identity of 1st place was Eugene Kim!"
"An unimaginable ㄴ(°0°)ㄱ identity!"
Honestly, I had been slightly worried about what kind of reaction would come when the mask came off.
'After seeing today's stage, everyone will have to acknowledge it.'
Since they had already shown an incredible stage, I wasn't worried at all anymore.
"Eugene really worked so hard."
"Let's all give Eugene hyung a passionate hug when he comes back after finishing."
"Yeah, I'm even going to kiss him."
"Um... That's a bit..."
As we waited for the final stage with light hearts.
"Is it starting now?"
Finally, the last contestant, Crocodile, appeared on stage.
"But... the stage is really simple."
"Yeah."
Unlike Black Cat's stage which had various theatrical elements.
On Crocodile's stage, there were three musicians playing guitar, bass, and drums, along with Crocodile standing in front of the mic holding a guitar.
A simple four-piece band configuration.
Other than that, there were no theatrical effects or stage devices visible.
"Are they going to win with just a song?"
"That must mean they're that confident."
As Crocodile, who had been standing with a nonchalant, casual posture, gave the signal, the performance finally began.
"This song is?"
"Whoa... They're doing this song?"
The music flowing out was the hit song 'Run Away' by the legendary American rock band, the Fighters.
It was just as mainstream a song choice as the one Black Cat had just sung.
The only reason the members were surprised was.
"This song is really difficult..."
"Will they be able to pull it off?"
The Fighters' songs are all songs with extremely high notes, making them very difficult to pull off.
Waaaaaaaah—
The audience, who knew this as well, immediately let out enthusiastic cheers as the intro flowed out.
And while everyone was watching the stage with expectant eyes.
The singing voice of Crocodile that finally flowed out.
"Huh?"
"...??"
Momentarily bewildered everyone.
"Isn't this... just playing the original track?"
"No, it is live, but..."
"How can the voice be exactly the same?"
And not long after. We all reached the same thought.
"Don't tell me... they're singing their own song here?"